ARMY BLACK NIGHTS (1-4, 0-0 PATRIOT LEAGUE) AT CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (1-4, 0-0 PAC-12)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2024 • 3 PM PST
CALIFORNIA MEMORIAL STADIUM (BERKELEY, CA)
 
CAL AND ARMY MEET FOR FIRST TIME
— Cal and Army will square off for the first time on Wednesday. Both teams have opened the 2024 season with 1-4 records. The Golden Bears began their campaign with a home victory over Akron before a current four-game slide with losses at Le Moyne and Cornell followed by home defeats at the hands of Lindenwood and St. Bonaventure. Army won its most recent game at home against Hofstra on Sunday after dropping its first four contests vs. No. 17 USC and at No. 5 Syracuse, Siena and Rutgers.
— Wednesday's forecast in Berkeley at first draw is for cloudy skies with a 10% chance of precipitation, a temperature of 58 degrees, and winds from the west/northwest at 6 miles per hour.

THE HOMESTAND
— Cal's current five-game homestand hits the midway mark with Wednesday's game against Army. The homestand, which began Feb. 29 and will run through March 12, is Cal's longest stretch of consecutive regular-season home games since the Golden Bears played five in a row at California Memorial Stadium from March 3-16, 2017.
— After the current homestand concludes, Cal will play at home only three more times for the remainder of the regular season against Colorado (March 23), UC Davis (April 13) and San Diego State (April 20).

LAST TIME OUT: CAL DROPS FOURTH STRAIGHT IN 10-8 LOSS TO ST. BONAVENTURE 
— Kennedy Goss scored a career-high four goals and added eight draw controls to run her Cal career record total to 233 but it was not enough for the Bears in a 10-8 loss to St. Bonaventure.
— The game was tied 5-5 late in the third period before the Bonnies ran off four straight goals in a span of less than three and a half minutes to take a 9-5 advantage with 13:07 to go in the game. Cal would score three of the game's final four goals but neither team scored after Goss' final goal with 4:12 to go.
— Cal was dominant in the circle with an 18-3 advantage in draw controls but committed 16 turnovers that led to the Bonnies' 22-8 edge in ground balls.

2024 THEME DAYS
— Cal has announced its 2024 theme days beginning with Youth Day and a post-game autograph session after Wednesday's game against Army. Other theme days include Morgan's Message (March 10 vs. Winthrop), Bears United (March 12 vs. Butler), One Love (March 23 vs. Colorado), Cause Day (April 13 vs. UC Davis) and Senior Day (April 20 vs. San Diego State).

OTHER NOTABLES
— The stats that have told the tale during Cal's current four-game losing streak are averages of 7.0 goals and 18.8 turnovers per contest. After scoring 19 goals (most since a 20-10 win home win over Saint Mary's on April 7, 2017) and committing just 10 turnovers in a season-opening 19-10 win over Akron, Cal has not scored more than eight goals and committed at least 16 turnovers in all four games since. 
— Cal has a 71-41 advantage in draw controls this season with Kennedy Goss (31), Courtney Wong (21) and Kalena Johnson (12) each in double digits. 
— Mya Wang recorded Cal's most memorable individual offensive performance of the season with a career-high six goals and one assist for a career-high seven points against Akron, while Goss moved into the team lead and has posted career highs for goals (10) and points (13) after her single-game career bests of four goals and four points against St. Bonaventure.
— Cal has played three goalkeepers in the first five games. Collin Fritsch has started all five contests, while Alicia Souliotis has come on in the second half four times and Chloe Rand once.
— Cal has had the same starting lineup in each of its first five contests.
— Cal has played 27 of the 33 players on its roster, including nine who have made their Cal debuts.
— Cal's game at Cornell started in a memorable heavy snow squall and the field was blanketed with the white stuff just minutes into the contest.
— Cal is playing its sixth and final season in the Pac-12 before officially becoming a member of the ACC on Aug. 2.